Reported speech: косвенная речь

Бывает речь прямая:

· I like shopping.

А бывает косвенная. Это когда мы передаём чужие слова.
Говоря по-простому, нужно раскрыть кавычки:

· She said that she liked shopping.

· I can't come. – прямая речь. (direct speech)
· He said he couldn't come. – косвенная речь. (reported speech)

Reported speech

Speech can be direct:

· 'I like shopping', she said.

Or it can be reported. It's when we report someone else's words.
Simply put, get rid of the quotation marks:

· She said that she liked shopping.

· 'I can't come', he said. – direct speech
· He said he couldn't come. – reported speech

1.

КАК ФОРМИРОВАТЬ?

1. Как видите, когда мы пересказываем речь от третьего лица (он сказал / поведал, что…), мы "опускаем" её в прошедшее время. 

· I like ice cream.
· She said (that) she liked ice cream.

· I am living in London.
· She said (that) she was living in London.

2. Что если сказанное в кавычках УЖЕ было в прошедшем времени?

· I passed the exam!

Верно: засунем его ещё глубже — в предпрошедшее (Past Perfect):

· She told him (that) she had passed the exam.

1.

HOW IS IT FORMED?

1. As you can see, when we retell someone else's words (he said that...), we put them in the past tense. 

· 'I like ice cream', she said.
· She said (that) she liked ice cream.

· 'I am living in London', she said.
· She said (that) she was living in London.

2. What if the exact words are already in the past tense?

· 'I passed the exam!' she told him.

Exactly: put it deeper into the past – the Past Perfect:

· She told him (that) she had passed the exam.

2.

КАК "ОПУСКАТЬ" ВРЕМЕНА?

Итак, нам нужна система. Воспользуемся лестницей согласования:

1) Как видите, любой Present (неважно – Simple, Continuous или Perfect) становится соответствующим Past Simple, Past Cont, Past Perfect. 

· I always drink coffee. – She said that she always drank coffee. (Present Simple → Past Simple)

· I am reading a book. – He explained that he was reading a book. (Present Cont → Past Cont)

· I have been to Spain. – He told me that he had been to Spain. (Present Perfect → Past Perfect)

· I will be in Geneva on Monday. – He said that he would be in Geneva on Monday. (will → would(2) )

2. Past Simple превращается в Past Perfect. Past Perfect — не меняется.

· Bill arrived on Saturday. – He said that Bill had arrived on Saturday. (Past Simple → Past Perfect)

· I had turned out the light. – He explained that he had turned out the light. (Past Perfect → Past Perfect)

3. WILL при согласовании будет принимать прошедшую форму WOULD:

· I will always love you. – She said she would always love me.

То же самое будет происходить с другими модальными глаголами: 

· I may be late. – He said he might be late.
· I must go. – She told me she had to go.

NB!

Не путайте слова SAY и TELL. 
После SAY нельзя ставить личные местоимения; после TELL – можно и нужно.

· He said that he was tired. He said me... 
· He told me he was tired. He told that he was...

2.

HOW DO WE 'LOWER' THE TENSES?

So, we need a system. Let's make it look like a staircase:

1. As you can see, any Present (be it Simple, Continuous or Perfect) becomes the corresponding Past Simple, Past Continuous or Past Perfect. 

· I always drink coffee. – She said that she always drank coffee. (Present Simple → Past Simple)

· I am reading a book. – He explained that he was reading a book. (Present Cont → Past Cont)

· I have been to Spain. – He told me that he had been to Spain. (Present Perfect → Past Perfect)

· I will be in Geneva on Monday. – He said that he would be in Geneva on Monday. (will → would(2) )

2. The Past Simple turns into the Past Perfect. The Past Perfect remains unchanged.

· Bill arrived on Saturday. – He said that Bill had arrived on Saturday. (Past Simple → Past Perfect)

· I had turned out the light. – He explained that he had turned out the light. (Past Perfect → Past Perfect)

3. WILL uses its past form too – WOULD:

· I will always love you. – She said she would always love me.

То же самое будет происходить с другими модальными глаголами: 

· I may be late. – He said he might be late.
· I must go. – She told me she had to go.

NB!

Don't confuse SAY and TELL. 
After SAY you can't use an object; after TELL, you can and should.

· He said that he was tired. He said me... 
· He told me he was tired. He told that he was...

3.

ПРИКАЗЫ / ПРОСЬБЫ

Что если сказанное было не утверждением, а, например, приказом? (Imperative) 

· Go away!

Поступаем как в русском — используем инфинитив:

· She told him to go away.

· Don't worry! – The doctor told me not to worry.

3.

ORDERS / REQUESTS

What if you need to report a request or order? (Imperative) 

· Go away!

Just like in Russian – use an infinitive: 

· She told him to go away.

· Don't worry! – The doctor told me not to worry.

4.

А если в прямой речи был вопрос?

· What's your name?

1. Помним о простом правиле: вопрос внутри другого предложения = прямой порядок слов. То есть сначала подлежащее, а потом сказуемое.

· I asked him what his name was.

· Where do you live? – They asked me where I lived.

2. Что если вопрос общий? (без слов типа when, why, where и т. д.)

· Are you married?

Нам понадобится слово "ли". Это IF либо WHETHER:

· Are you married? – She asked him if he was married. 
· Did she call? – He asked me whether she had called.

ВОПРОСЫ

4.

And what if it's a question?

· What's your name?

1. Remember a simple rule: to report a question, use the affirmative word order, i.e. subject + verb.

· I asked him what his name was.

· Where do you live? – They asked me where I lived.

2. What if it’s a yes/no question (without words like when, why, where, etc.)

· Are you married?

Then, use IF or WHETHER in place of the question word:

· Are you married? – She asked him if he was married. 
· Did she call? – He asked me whether she had called.

QUESTIONS

4.

Доп. задание:

Задумайтесь и дайте себе ответ, почему так происходит.

Почему в вопросах в косвенной речи не сохраняется обратный порядок слов?

4.

Extra task:

Make yourself wonder why that happens.

Why do we not use the question word order in reported speech?

4.

Ознакомьтесь с заданием и проверьте себя сами

Учения

4.

Get acquainted with the task and check yourself

Field Practice

Конец справки

Не расслабляйтесь — на очереди контрольные задания.
Cкорее переходите к тесту, нужно закрепить изученное.

END OF THE GUIDE

Stay alert — next up are the assessment tasks. Hit the test to reinforce what you’ve learned.